Yearly Archives: 2024

Into the summer we go

With the completion of the sculpted Mars yard and third Analog Astronaut Conference hosted by the Biosphere 2, the SAM crew moves into its second summer of continued effort, with a number projects unfolding at the same time. Last year Matthias Beach, Sean Gellenbeck, Tasha Coelho, and Mason Robbins worked June through September to complete renovation of the former Biosphere 2 rain forest greenhouse in preparation for installation of the SAM Mars yard, with an expanded and far more functional workshop for continued fabrication and construction.

Now, Matthias and Luna are completing the replacement of the original polycarbonate with new, darker tinted panels for less total thermal gain. The old panels had become brittle and were broken in many places, some sections blown out from strong, Arizona winds. With the new roof installed in July of 2022, all new wiring and rebuilt west wall in the summer of 2023, this begins the final effort to give this 1980s construct a new purpose for the next decade or two.

When it’s too hot to be on the scissor lift in the Arizona sun, Matthias is working in the SAM lower lung, replacing the original, rigid electrical conduit with Carflex, restoring the 3-way light function, and replacing the original florescent lights with modern LEDs for less power consumption and greater reliability. Luna is assisting Matthias and painting conducting the final scraping, sanding, priming, and painting of the lung walls and pan rim. This is the last, major interior restoration of the original Test Module and lung.

Kai, Matthias, and Luna continue to renovate the SAM Operations Center with the recent installation of a custom built butcher block countertop, sink, microwave, fridge, and more while Luna brings order to the chaos of the storage room following a juggernaut April and May.

Sean and Luna are designing and mid June fabricating the third prototype of the hydroponics rack. Once proved with a full growth cycle, three additional units will be built to complete this phase of bioregeneration capacity building with the ultimate goal of reproducing Linda Leigh’s single crew member, three weeks stay in SAM with all air fully recycled by plants.

We are honored to have Dr. James Knox, a former, career NASA aerospace engineer and principal developer of the CO2 scrubber for the International Space Station now working with us to design a custom scrubber for SAM. This original design and fabrication, lead by Sean, will enable us to engage full mechanical air recycling such that we can move from physico-chemical to bioregeneration in a single mission—the underlying goal for both the SIMOC simulator and the real world SAM research station.

Bindhu is updating the SAM Operations Manual, crew “cuff notes”, and working to establish an umbrella IRB. This is imperative for ability to engage multiple science objectives at SAM that carry data relevant to human related research objectives.

Tasha is working with Kai to develop the foundation for an educational curriculum around the new geologically accurate Mars yard such that primary and secondary school kids might enjoy an hour or a half day at SAM exploring the Mars yard through experiential learning and discovery. The same foundation will also apply to more advanced exploration by SAM crews, drones, and rovers.

Needless to say, we remain engaged!

As with the prior three summers, these photos essays will be reduced in frequency until September or October.

Stay cool! And stay tuned!

By |2024-06-28T18:38:46+00:00May 31st, 2024|Categories: Construction|0 Comments

Blue sunset on Mars

Blue sunset over Mars by NASA Curiosity rover

On July 4, 2023, NASA’s Perseverance Rover shot this sunset photo on planet Mars. The unusual bluish color is caused by the composition of the thin atmosphere. On Earth, the sunlight interacts with mainly nitrogen and oxygen. On Mars, the sunlight interacts with iron-rich dust that hangs in the atmosphere. This ultimately scatters lower-frequency red light around the sky during the day. At sunset though, the red light is scattered out and mostly blue light remains — not unlike a hazy day on Earth with smoke or blowing dust.

Read the full essay at Sky Lights by Dan Heim.

By |2024-05-21T01:52:25+00:00May 21st, 2024|Categories: Education|0 Comments

Inside the Movement to Bring the Arts to Outer Space

"Inside the Movement to Bring the Arts to Outer Space" by Christopher Cokinos for Esquire

Inside the Movement to Bring the Arts to Outer Space
Esquire
by Christopher Cokinos
May 16, 2024

This spring, a group of creatives simulated a lunar mission in the Arizona desert. What they found may challenge your understanding of how astronauts should spend their days.

[In] extreme environments like space, we should demand more than just enjoyment. The very things said from and about the moon can be strengthened with artistic technique. How we render the moon will either replicate our worst tendencies on Earth or foster a respect for the timeworn beauty of this companion world. From simulating living in a lunar habitat to talking with astronauts who will fly around the moon next year, I am obsessed with investigating how we can return to the moon to live and work while using the tools that artists know. Because those tools can help make life worth living.

Read the full article …

By |2024-05-22T06:56:35+00:00May 16th, 2024|Categories: In the news|0 Comments

Analog Astronaut Conference 2024 concludes

Once again, the Analog Astronaut Conference was a complete success.

This year, as with the prior two years held at Biosphere 2 and the first on-line, brought together a wonderful assembly of space exploration enthusiasts from all walks of life—aerospace engineers and artists, seasoned professionals and hobbyists, medical surgeons, astronomers, researchers, students and astronauts too.

The Biosphere 2 was once again proud to host this annual event. And the SAM staff worked hard to meet incredible construction goals in time for the conference attendees to enjoy their time at the new Mars yard and reduced gravity simulator.

Photos coming soon!

By |2024-06-06T00:04:47+00:00May 12th, 2024|Categories: In the news|0 Comments

Algae Bioreactor Workshop hosted at SAM

As part of the overall design strategy for SAM’s life support system architecture, the SAM team is looking at developing a hybrid solution that incorporates both physicochemical (mechanical + chemical) elements along side bioregenerative (plant-based) elements. The team is working on developing all these elements simultaneously to ensure they are designed to interface effectively. Luna and Sean have been hard at work focused on the bioregenerative side of this critical part of the SAM architecture.

On April 22-25 of this year, the team met with a research group from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with a research focus on the use of algae cultivation for the support human space travel. The team consisted of Gisela Detrell, Lina Salman, and Sergio Santaeufemia Sánchez. Through the TUM team’s hard work, they secured the support of their university to meet with the SAM team in person and explore how our research could overlap to be mutually beneficial. As part of this discussion, the TUM team flew out to Tucson to see SAM and Biosphere 2 in person.

The workshop occurred over 4 days, providing ample time to share what we were working on and to see how we overlap each other.

During day 1 of our workshop, Sean took the TUM team on a briefn tour of the U of A main campus and had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Joel Cuello who also researches in the field of the application of algae to supporting human space travel. The discussion lead to some exciting insights and possibilities for future collaboration. The second day the team was hosted at the B2 campus and the TUM team shared about the wide variety of research projects they are working on including photobioreactor (PBR) design and modeling, student and public workshops focused on human space travel, and how SAM could incorporate at PBR into its design. A photobioreactor is a system that provides the light an nutrients needed to cultivate an algal culture.

Day 3 of the workshop was tour day where the team was taken on a private tour of the Biosphere 2 facility and SAM. This was extra special for the TUM team as they teach about the history of Biosphere 2 in some of their classes. With this being the first opportunity any of them had to visit in person, they got the full experience and will now be able to speak from personal experience in their lectures! The SAM tour focused primarily on the habitat facility as the Mars Yard wall build was occurring simultaneously. Dr. Cuello also joined for the tour of SAM and was excited to see the facility in person for the first time as well. The fourth and final day of the algae workshop was an opportunity to discuss how we move forward as a team and the actions we can take to explore how we can continue to work together moving into the future. We are excited to continue to explore with and learn from the TUM team especially to eventually see the integration of a photobioreactor within the SAM habitat!

Overall, the visit to Tucson was a very productive discussion and we are all excited about the possibilities the future holds for our teams to continue to work together. Luna and Sean will be headed to Germany to see the the TUM facilities in December and are excited to continue exploring synergistic working possibilities for our teams!

By |2025-01-30T06:22:44+00:00May 10th, 2024|Categories: Research & Development|0 Comments

Discovering the Mars yard at SAM

Dr. Cameron Smith, anthropologist and developer of pressure suits at Smith Aerospace Garments explores the new Mars yard at SAM while encumbered by one of his pressure suits, the same worn by crew members at SAM for their EVAs. In this short film Dr. Smith exits the functional airlock of the SAM habitat and then engages the reduced gravity simulator set to the Mars gravity of one-third that on Earth. He explores sedimentary rock layers, an ancient lava tube, a geologically recent rock fall, and gypsum veins.

By |2024-05-17T18:18:35+00:00May 9th, 2024|Categories: Videos|0 Comments

Photos of the SAM Mars yard, May 2024

The Mars yard at SAM is complete, save the near-future introduction of crushed basalt and basalt boulders to cover the currently exposed concrete slab. The Reduced Gravity Simulator is fully operational, with the prototype built principally from wood being rebuilt in welded aluminum over the summer for a lighter, more stiff frame and smoother operation.

By |2024-06-06T21:52:27+00:00May 3rd, 2024|Categories: Construction|0 Comments

Sculpting Mars at SAM: Days 12-15

Painter Danni gives bold, three dimensional form to the carved, simulated stones at SAM, Biosphere 2

And then came the scenics, a breed of artist unlike the plasterers or the sculptors before them. Quiet like the brushes they employ, subdued like the hints of red, butterscotch, and gray applied, Juan, Danni, and Christina also see the world in three dimensions—not as massive blocks of carved foam or layers of sprayed concrete, but in concentric applications of paint that build depth in color through time.

Referring to the same set of laminated photos as the two prior teams, the scenics apply dark hues beneath overhangs to create permanent shadow, and they create a sense of time through the hi-lights on the leading edges of rock ledges, mineral stains from long forgotten (even if geologically recent) movements of water. And when Danica or Kai would note a synthetic rock surface too bright or too bold for the atmosphere of Mars, within minutes color theory became color reality and the issue was resolved without hesitation or complaint for the second or third effort on that same section of the SAM Mars yard.

By |2024-05-05T21:24:05+00:00May 2nd, 2024|Categories: Construction|0 Comments

Sculpting Mars at SAM: Day 9

First coat of shotcrete applied to the Mars yard at SAM, Biosphere 2

The transformation of Polystyrene foam blocks into a Mars landscape requires vision, skill in sculpting, shooting concrete, and painting; and effective management. The first and last are exemplified by Red Hen founder Danica Vallone who maintains a relationship with some 250 individuals working in set design and construction, and her brother and production manager Demian Vallone who brings patience, diligence, and hands-on collaboration to the construction floor. At the SAM Mars yard Danica and her team have transformed drawings and photographs into three dimensions, demonstrating a deep understanding of form, texture, and color and the physical tools used to employ them.

The sculptors (as noted in prior blog entries) hold what is perhaps the most challenging of the processes— making those first cuts into the massive blocks of foam with a vision toward the end product that they may never see. This process is principally one of subtracting material, cutting into square blocks to remove initially large and then increasingly smaller pieces using hot wire knives, chain saws, horse brushes, three pronged picks, and an assembly of home-built hand and power tools. Material is added too, building beyond the otherwise imposed limit of a wall or corner, as with the rockfall in the southeast corner of the SAM Mars yard.

With the shapes established, the plaster crew covers the foam with a thin layer of a custom blend of Poly-bond structural concrete, sand, and adhesives designed to bond to foam. This concrete is tinted to establish a base color such that the final, painter crew can work from that base color with less effort and material, as compared to starting from a standard concrete gray.

While Hollywood sets built from foam are typically covered with 1/8″ concrete, thicker for areas on which actors might walk, the SAM Mars yard is 1/4″ nominal with the west wall K-rock covered in expanded steel, steel mesh, and in some areas up to two inches hand-troweled concrete.

Three sculptors were at SAM for eight days. The four plasterers are slated for just two days (starting today). And as of this coming Sunday two painters will be at SAM for four days. Each crew brings to this project some of the finest talent in Hollywood, with individuals who have two or three generations in skill and experience in their respective trades. The quality of production against an impossible timeline has been truly awe inspiring and points directly to Red Hen’s ability to manage such a complex endeavor.

BELOW: Luna Powell scatters real stones obtained from a local quarry on the shelves and outcrops of the north wall as the plaster team applies the first layer of shocrete to the south wall of the SAM Mars yard. The blue color is a layer of “Weldcrete”, a kind of chemical adhesive that helps the Polybond-based shotcrete adhere to the foam.

By |2024-05-05T21:24:44+00:00April 26th, 2024|Categories: Construction|0 Comments
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